Former Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau has expressed gratitude following his appointment as the chair of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Kamau said he is looking forward to working with NHIF Board and management to actualise the dream of providing affordable, sustainable, equitable and quality social health insurance through optimal utilisation of resources.
“I wish to extend my deepest gratitude and appreciation to His Excellency the President for giving me the opportunity to steer the NHIF Board to the next level,” he said in a statement.
Kamau added that he is alive to the challenges the fund has experienced in its efforts to ensure every Kenyan has access to affordable health coverage, which is a priority of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Kamau was named the chairperson of the NHIF Board for a period of three years, with effect from the 23rd of December 2022.
In a gazette notice, President William Ruto revoked the appointment of Lewis Nguyai to the position.
Kamau is a career public officer who joined the civil service as an entry-level civil servant and rose to Cabinet Secretary.
He joined the public service as an assistant engineer in 1981 and rose through the ranks to Permanent Secretary, before being appointed Transport and Infrastructure CS by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has hailed the appointment of Kamau to the position.
Gachagua said Kamau is a distinguished public servant who has put in years of committed service to the country.
Ruto has been pushing to have NHIF contributions pegged on the monthly payment of workers, in a bid to increase the funding pool of the scheme.
It will be a major relief to the national insurer which has been looking for ways to increase its funding to implement the universal health plan.
Currently, workers earning over Sh100,000 pay a fixed monthly contribution of Sh1,700 to NHIF.
